Consumer Packaged Goods Broker News: Plum Organics purchase gives Campbell a younger audience

McDonald is out and Lafley returns at P&G | Cargill supports changes to U.S. food aid | WhiteWave completes Dean spinoff to become standalone company

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May 24, 2013

News for the food, beverage and consumer packaged goods industry

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Plum Organics purchase gives Campbell a younger audience
Campbell Soup has agreed to purchase Plum Organics for an undisclosed sum. The latter, founded in 2007, makes organic food for babies and toddlers that is packaged in a squeezable pouch. Plum Organics will remain a separate brand within Campbell. With this acquisition, Campbell says, its kid-focused products will generate more than $1 billion in sales annually. Reuters (5/24), The Washington Post/The Associated Press (5/24), The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (5/23)

McDonald is out and Lafley returns at P&G
Procter & Gamble says CEO Bob McDonald is stepping down and former President and CEO A.G. Lafley is emerging from retirement to become CEO, president and chairman. "A.G.'s track record and his depth of experience at P&G make him uniquely qualified to lead the company forward at this important time," said Jim McNerney, presiding director of the board. The Wall Street Journal/MoneyBeat blog (5/23)

Cargill supports changes to U.S. food aid
Cargill has voiced support for changes to the U.S. program, founded in 1954, that provides food to developing countries. "Cargill believes it is time we reassess the program to make certain it is efficient and effective in meeting the increasing needs and allow for some flexibility in the delivery of a portion of food aid assistance so that food can get more quickly to people on the brink of starvation," the company said in a statement. The New York Times (tiered subscription model)/The Caucus Blog (5/22)

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WhiteWave completes Dean spinoff to become standalone company
The Denver Post (5/23)
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Mobile is key for Hispanic shoppers
Research from The Integer Group says 16% of Hispanic shoppers use a mobile device for purchases, compared with 12% of the general population. "For Hispanic users, the Web is more organically integrated into their lives," said Armand Parra, director of insight and strategy. "It's on the go, right now, access to their friends, family and information. Marketers need to see this environment and determine the right way to message in it so they are providing utility to this experience." MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (5/23), Progressive Grocer (5/23)

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Nia Vardalos stars in Vaseline campaign
Nia Vardalos, best known for the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," is being featured in a campaign for Vaseline Spray & Go Moisturizer. The "Max the Morning" campaign includes online videos showing how busy moms can save time at the start of the day. Drug Store News (5/23)

Nabisco fan tapped as summer correspondent
Mondelez has selected Kylie Keene of Portland, Maine, as its first social media correspondent and brand ambassador, in a contest that garnered hundreds of videos and resumes. She will write blog posts about the Nabisco One Direction North American Tour. MediaPost Communications/Marketing Daily (5/23)

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Study compares nutrition of canned, fresh peaches
Canned peaches are just as nutritious as fresh ones and sometimes more so, according to a study published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. Canning "opens the cell walls of the fruit's flesh, and it makes nutrients such as vitamin A more readily available to our body," says food scientist Christine Bruhn National Public Radio/The Salt blog (5/23), FoodProductionDaily.com (France) (5/20)

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GMA News

Seeking CPG company input focused on anti-counterfeiting best practices
GMA and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), under the Trading Partner Alliance, invite CPG companies to participate in a confidential online survey about their current, planned or potential anti-counterfeiting and supply chain integrity practices. The results of this survey, being conducted by Inmar and Authentix, will be published as the "2013 Best Practices Guide for the Protection of Branded Food and Consumer Packaged Goods in the Marketplace," which will report on methods for validating the authenticity of products as they move through the supply chain from manufacturer to retail point of sale. For more information or to receive a link to the survey, contact GMA’s Karin Croft at kcroft@gmaonline.org.

Government & Food Safety

Senate votes down biotech food-labeling measure
The Senate voted 71-27 to block a farm-bill amendment saying that states have the power to require special labeling for biotech foods. The proposal "is not germane to the farm bill" and would interfere with the FDA's science-based process of deciding what food labeling is necessary for consumers, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said. The FDA doesn't "require special labeling because they've determined that food content of these ingredients does not materially differ from their conventional counterparts," Stabenow said. The Huffington Post (5/23), St. Louis Post-Dispatch/The Associated Press (5/23)

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